Return of Shadows (RotBTD)
by Kyra Tuiama
Summary: When Arendelle is attacked by Nightmares, Anna calls for help. North dispatches a group of warriors, the Defenders of Realms-Jack Frost, Hiccup, Rapunzel and Merida-to assist Anna and Elsa restore peace to Arendelle and stop Pitch before he regains his full strength. But Jack is now bound by the laws of this strange world, and begins to lose control over his own powers.
1. Prologue

This is my first Frozen fanfiction, so bear with me! Also, I know a chunk of the RotBTD fandom are not exactly happy with Frozen being added into the group, so please, no flames! A musical version of this story is being written by jasminejohnson41, so if you're interested, please check it out!

**Prologue**

"Elsa, Anna," called the Queen of Arendelle. She folded her night gown against her as she sat down on a little wooden chair beside one of her daughter's beds. "It's time for your bedtime story."

Five year old princess Anna excitedly popped her head up from above the blankets, her strawberry blonde hair still wavy after being undone from it's regular braid. "Come on, Elsa. Mom's gonna tell us a story."

Elsa hoisted herself onto her younger sister's bed. Dressed in turquoise and teal colored pajamas, Elsa seemed just as sweet and innocent as her sister. "What story are you telling us tonight, mother?"

"Well," the queen chuckled, bringing out a book. On the cover was an image of four interconnecting rings and within each was a symbol. "It's about a group of warriors called the 'Defenders of Realms'. They travel across the different worlds to fight evil. It's members constantly change as the old ones retire and new ones are selected."

"Do they really exist?" asked Anna, enthusiastically. "I hope they do. That way, we can join them. And Elsa can go around freezing all the bad guys!"

"Come on," said Elsa, slightly annoyed, "I want to hear mom's story."

The queen smiled warmly. "Our story begins with the moon. So big, so bright, it seemed to chase the darkness away." Her two daughters shifted themselves into comfortable positions atop the covers, Elsa propped her head on the palms of her heads and listened intently to her mother recounting the tale of action, adventure and friendship.

Warriors who have been granted powers from the sun, a swashbuckling hero, and legends of a bearded man in a red suit going around delivering presents to children all over the world. Elsa allowed her imagination to travel with her mother's voice, vividly visioning what the heroic battles would seem like, and wondering if she did as Anna suggested, and went around using her ice powers against the different villains.

Eventually, the queen wrapped up her story and stood up. "That's it for tonight. Off to bed now, girls."

"Aw," murmured Anna as she reluctantly slipped back under her blankets. "I'm not even sleepy yet. Tell me more, mother."

"Maybe another time, sweetie." Her majesty gave Anna a quick kiss on the forehead. "Good night, Anna. Good night, Elsa."

"'Night, mother," both girls sang in unison as the queen closed the door with a small click. The room fell silent. Through the clear palace windows, Anna could see the magnificent stars. At the center of the brilliant night sky was the moon. It really did seem to make one feel safer.

Anna spent a couple of hours staring up into the heavens, fantasizing adventures of courageous heroes. Maybe she could one day leave Arendelle and travel to strange new worlds. No matter how long time ticked on, sleep still refused to come to her.

Giving up to boredom, Anna slid out of her own bed, and tiptoed quickly across the room over to her sleeping sister. After a few attempts to wake Elsa up, only given sleepy murmurs in response, Anna resorted to using her trump card. She hopped onto the mattress. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

* * *

Prologue finished, huzzah! Chapter One will be up soon, hopefully. This is a RotBTD fanfiction, so the other characters will be introduced soon. Also, the Jack, Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel will not be meeting for the first time in this story. I am considering that as a spinoff to my RotBTD fanfiction series, The Defenders of Realms. However, reading it is NOT NEEDED, as I will not throw in any references or plot links. All you need to know is that they have met.

I hope you enjoyed the prologue and looking forward to the next chapter. If you didn't, well, thanks for checking this story out anyway.

~Kyra


	2. The Fifth World

Welcome to chapter one. Here, the story actually gets started. Jasminejohnson41 has also started the musical version, so feel free to check it out if you're interested. :3

* * *

**Chapter One: The Fifth World**

Summer was the best part of the year. The Kingdom of Arendelle was as blooming with excitement. People flocked the markets, and performers were getting their acts together for the big night. The palace is to hold a celebration for everyone in the kingdom to mark the one year anniversary of the opening of the palace gates.

Princess Anna had been excited for this day for the past month, and she personally went around bringing the invitations to the people. She went as far as the Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna, only managing to ask the whole family over after Oaken attempted to sell her some goods. Though there was one person Anna didn't even have to invite. After all, Kristoff promised he would be coming back in time for the party before he left to collect some more ice.

Elsa was much more happy about this upcoming celebration as compared to her coronation. She oversaw the decorations and the food, personally handpicking the best of the best.

As morning arrived on the awaited day, Olaf, the castle's summer-loving snowman, knocked on the door to Anna's room. "Anna, today's the day of the anniversary," he chimed. "Time to get up." When there was no answer, Olaf knocked harder.

Anna bursted out of the room without warning, already dressed in a simple turquoise gown. Realizing she smacked Olaf with the door, the young princess winced. "Sorry, Olaf."

"No problem," Olaf muttered, putting his head back on his snow body. Anna dashed right past him, slightly straightening up her clothes as she ran for the stairwell. Gerda, one of the servants, hurriedly appeared at the stop of the steps.

"Your highness," she panted, "you forgot your tiara."

"Oh, right." Anna plucked it from the woman's hands and popped it into her hair. "Thanks, Gerda." She lifted herself onto the handrail, swiftly spiraling down the staircase. Anna slid past a few of the other servants who were just making their way up to the upper floors. She quickly bid them good mornings before hopping off the end of the rail.

Queen Elsa was in the ballroom, casually looking at the preparations. She spotted the dark purple colored drapes and how they hung over the windows. "Let's open the curtains tonight," said Elsa to one of the decorators in the room. In the distance, she could hear the sound of elated footsteps. Elsa didn't need to turn to figure out who it was.

"Morning, Elsa," chimed Anna, slowing her pace down as she walked into the room. "How are things going?"

"Everything's going perfectly. At this rate we'll be done by noon." Elsa gave her sister a warm, excited, yet mature smile. "Is Kristoff coming? I thought he was out on one of his trips."

"He promised he'd be here to help us welcome the guests," Anna answered.

"And I can't wait to see Sven again," Olaf added in high spirits as he strolled into the room. The two sisters couldn't help but giggle slightly at the adorable little snow man.

Anna let out a longing sigh. "This is going to be the best celebration ever."

* * *

North hummed merrily as he tapped his feet to the song. Christmas had just passed, and the workshop had decided to calm down after the fiasco of work that had recently went by. The yetis were taking a few days off while the elves continued being elves and raided the leftover stacks of cookies. North himself figured it was about time he cleaned up the workshop. After all, a lot of dust can gather in fifty years.

So, as Santa rummaged through the belongings of the buckets and shelves of his office, he was finding things that he hadn't seen in a while. Century old snow globes, wrinkled christmas cards, and god knows how long that fruitcake has been there. No elf would dare eat it, that's for sure.

Just the sight of his desk made North reluctant to attempt to tidy the place up. He still had that set of train tracks arranged in a careful pattern atop his table. It's been there since the week before Easter.

When North decided to endeavor this task, he considered calling over the other guardians for this important case. Maybe he could call Bunny over to just annoy him. He's the only other seasonal Guardian. With it being the beginning of winter, Jack has been going around bringing snow days to the world. North would occasionally ponder on how much things have changed for the young winter spirit. A year ago, not a single soul could see him. Now, he has human friends. Not just in this world, but other worlds as well.

As his hands shifted through the junk of the very floor of one of the barrels of long forgotten stuff, North stumbled onto an old piece of parchment. He murmured in confusion. "What is this?" he mused in his Russian accent, pulling up the paper from underneath discarded toys.

It was an old map. Some of the images and diagrams were faded, but North could make out words if he squinted. It was a simple diamond, broken up into different sections, each containing it's own symbol. One held a crescent moon, one a dragon, one a sword, and the last a brilliant sun. "Ah, it is map of different worlds," North laughed to himself. "I remember when I went around to each of them. And Jack did same thing six months ago."

But something happened that North did not expect. The diamond started to shift, the map itself beginning to radiate light. It started to singe North's own hands. He exclaimed in surprise, dropping the paper to the ground. Straining his eyes to see through the glow, North realized that the diamond was morphing into something else.

As quickly as it began, the brightness disappeared. North took a step forward, bent down and picked the map up once again. What he saw astonished him.

In place of the four sided diamond was a simple pentagon, each side donning the same symbols as before. However, at the very bottom, on the new segment, was an unfamiliar emblem: a majestic ice blue snowflake.

North blinked. Once. Then twice. Then it struck him. "I don't believe it..." he breathed. "A fifth world has been connected."

* * *

Anna stood in the corner of the ballroom as she watched the guests dance through the night. She rested her head against the glass pane windows, her expression slightly sad. Olaf was surrounded by all the kids who attended the celebration with their parents. One of them pulled out his nose, the other one of his arms. Olaf simply chuckled. Elsa, finishing up her conversations with one of the families, walked over to her sister. "Hey," she began softly. "You okay, Anna?"

"I guess," the princess answered in a slightly glum tone.

"Come on," Elsa urged, taking Anna's hands in her own. "You were excited for this party more than anyone." The queen gestured to the hall. It was filled with happy couples, dancing villagers, food were aligned along the tables and a few ice sculptures decorated the walls. Elsa turned back to Anna. "You should be the one enjoying this the most."

"I know, but..." Anna paused for a moment. "Kristoff promised he'd be here before the party began. It's getting late and he hasn't even showed up. I know it's probably not his fault, but I'm just... disappointed."

"But you trust Kristoff," said Elsa. "I'm sure he'll come. He's probably on his way as we speak. He's..." She turned to the window, her eyes immediately catching on to an approaching reindeer. "coming up at the gates."

"Really?" Anna suddenly exclaimed. She pushed her forehead to the glass. Running through the village and towards the palace entrance was Kristoff's trusty partner: his reindeer, Sven. Anna let out a squeal in delight. "Kristoff's here!"

Before Elsa had a chance to say anything, Anna darted off, neatly zipping through the swarm of guests. She went down the corridors and out into the courtyard. The sentries saluted the young princess as she hurried past them. Anna gave them a quick nod in response. The kingdom was quiet. The nearby stores were all deserted, and few of the houses were lit. Almost everyone was attending the celebration.

Anna's face adorned a beaming smile as Sven galloped to the gates. As the reindeer slowed down, wheezing in exhaustion, Anna felt her heart sink. Kristoff was slumped over Sven's back. The animal whined softly.

"Kristoff," cried Anna, rushing over to him. Placing one hand on his back, the mountain man groaned. Kristoff forced himself to unmount off Sven, crashing to the ground just after landing a foot on the floor. He winced in pain.

It was then that Anna noticed Kristoff was covered in cuts and fresh wounds. Various portions of his sweater and pants were stained red.

"My gosh, Kristoff, what happened?" Anna gasped, leaning down to him.

"Monsters," Kristoff choked out in reply. "Black horses appeared in the mountains. I tried to stop them." He grimaced. "Couldn't hold them off. It's only a matter of time before they get here." Kristoff's facial expression slackened, as if he was losing consciousness.

Anna whipped her head to one of the guards. "Go get help!"

"Yes, your highness," he instantly replied before scuttling off. Anna moved her attention back to Kristoff. "Everything's going to be okay. Just breathe."

Kristoff let out a weak chuckle. "Anything else?"

There was a cackle of lightning. Anna lifted her head up to the skies. Swirling above the kingdom of Arendelle was a pitch black cloud. Streams of ebony swirled down from above, forming onyx horses. With a snort, their menacing yellow eyes glowed with merciless intent. They started moving towards the gate.

Kristoff bit his lip. "They're here."

The guards stepped forward, their spears pointed. "You beasts will not lay a hand on the royal family!" The horses raised their hooves, crashing them into the soldiers. Those who weren't pushed backwards were knocked unconscious as their heads slammed into the ground.

The horses closed in on the couple. Sven stood in between the monsters and Kristoff and Anna proudly. His strong eyes told the creatures that he wasn't going to let anyone lay a hand on his rider. The monsters ignored Sven completely. The reindeer didn't have a chance to react. Anna clutched Kristoff's hand tightly in her own as the monsters pounced forward.

* * *

As a reminder, this story will include RotBTD, with everyone in the big four showing up in the next chapter. As another reminder, **please keep in mind that Jack, Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel have all met by the time of this story. **

See you for Chapter Two: The Call.


	3. The Call

Was the wait for this chapter too long? Well, this is longer than my usual chapters.  
Beware of line breaks. Like I said. The Big Four _have met_.

**Chapter Two: The Call**

Her hands clinging onto Kristoff's chest, Anna pulled herself in and shut her eyes firm. Kristoff wearily wrapped an arm around the young princess. His head rested on Anna's and he braced for the impact.

There was a flurry of brilliant azure blue. A wave of icicles shot out from the floor, impaling the black horses through their chests. Sharp whinnies echoed from the creatures as they crumbled into dust. Elsa stood in a strong stance behind Sven, one of her arms forward. "You monsters are not touching my sister."

Olaf marched forward, curling his stick fingers into fists. "You're going to have to go through us."

Anna's eyelids fluttered open. A smile immediately adorned her face. Her voice was filled with happiness and relief. "Elsa!"

The Snow Queen angled her head to Anna. "You alright?"

Anna bobbed her head and murmured a little "uh-huh." The princess cautiously shifted herself away from Kristoff, completely careful not to hurt his wounds. The soldier that ran off before returned with a group of men and women dressed in white. "We'll take care of him, your highness," one of them said.

Taking a step back, Anna allowed the medical team to tend to Kristoff. There were a thunderous roar from the clouds. Anna treaded closer to Elsa.

"More of them seem to be coming," said Elsa, her voice solid. Flakes of ice danced from her fingertips. "Anna, you go into the castle. It's much safer there."

"No, I want to stay here and help," Anna insisted.

"I don't want you to get caught up in this," Elsa answered. "And just in case we can't handle this on our own, I want you to call for help."

"Help? From where? We don't need help!"

"Anna, please," urged Elsa. "As a failsafe. If more of these creatures attack Arendelle, I'm not sure can I hold them all off. I can protect you, but I'm not sure can I protect the whole Kingdom. We can't do all of that by ourselves. And I trust you will know the right people to go to."

"No Southern Isles," Anna grumbled and let out a quick sigh. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "I've got an idea. Elsa, can you keep the monsters out of the palace?"

"I'll do what I can."

"Alright. I'm going to the library. There's something I need to find."

"I trust you, Anna." Elsa turned to the snowman beside her. "Olaf, stay with my sister and keep her safe."

"Yes ma'am!" Olaf replied giving the queen a solid salute. Sven nudged Anna's shoulder. He nodded his head towards the lute attached to the side of the saddle. The young princess smiled as she took the instrument. "Thanks, Sven." She and Olaf turned their backs to the front gate, rushing into corridors.

As Elsa whipped her head back to face the heavens, funnels of black sand slammed into the tiled grounds of Arendelle. In the wake of the crash, an array of black horses. They began to make their way towards the castle. Soldiers raised their weapons. And the Snow Queen took her stance.

The doors to the library violently flew open. Anna dashed inside, the bright moon staring at her through the windows. She looked frantically around the maze of shelves. "Come on, Anna," she told herself. "You've spent years bored out of your mind in this room. At least remember where that book is."

"Anything I can do?" asked Olaf.

"Here." Anna dropped the lute into Olaf's hands. "Cover me." Olaf firmly brought up the instrument into a striking position as he slowly paced backwards, guarding Anna's back. His alert eyes darted around the library.

Anna ran her fingers down the spines of lines and lines of books. "Where is it? Where is it," she mumbled. At long last, she found it. One of the backs bore a the title she was searching for: _The Defenders of Realms_. Anna pulled on the book's end-band, bringing it off the shelf. She began flipping through it forcefully while her eyes sprinted down the pages.

She stopped. A grin came to her face. "Found it!" Reaching out an arm, Anna grabbed one of the quills on a nearby desk and dripped it in ink. She moved towards the window, placing the book in the moonlight. Anna started to etch symbols onto the ground. Olaf watched the princess curiously from her side.

"What are you sketching?"

"The book says drawing out the symbols will send a message to the Defenders," Anna replied, her focus not leaving the book and it's strange emblems. Her hands moved swiftly and her gaze switched between the floorboards and the page, copying the images with swift precision. A crescent moon, a dragon, a sword. Anna panted slightly. "Three down, one to go."

There was a loud screech. An ebony horse smashed through the glass windows. Anna let out a shriek in surprise, covering her head as shards rained down. The creature landed in the library, tapping it's hooves as it snorted.

"How did it get past Elsa?" Anna gasped.

There was a yell from behind. Olaf sprung into the air and swung the lute, striking the animal just as he turned his neck. The monster was caught off guard, the strength of the hit shattering it into dusty remains.

"Thanks, Olaf," Anna huffed before turning her attention back to the book. She stepped back into the moonlight and brushed away the glass. Anna drew the last symbol into the ground, a sun.

The moment she lifted the quill, a bright blue beam shot up into the sky with explosive force. It pushed right through the ceiling off the library. No hole was created. The light was intangible. It emerged at the very top of the palace, continuing it's path directly into the sky. It's brilliance could be seen for miles.

Just as Elsa lashed at another one of the horses, she noticed the beam. "Anna..."

* * *

Phil thrusted the door open fiercely. The yeti began speaking quickly in gibberish. North looked at Phil, confused. Following the Yeti's instructions, North hastily made his way to the Globe Room. The massive balcony overlooked the entire workshop with a model of the room revolving in the center. Phil pointed towards the control panels.

North looked down, still baffled. There was a strange envelope present. North tore the outer layer apart, immediately getting to the paper within. At the end was a seal in the shape of a snowflake. "It is a call for help. This symbol, it is new." Something in his brain clicked. He had seen that snowflake before. "It is from fifth world! A call to the Defenders!" The Russian man turned to the yeti standing beside him.

"Phil!" he bellowed. "Get me Jack!"

Phil murmured in confusion as he pointed to himself and spoke incomprehensible words to North. "I don't care," the man replied. "Stuff him in a bag and use the snow globe to get him here if you have to."

North handed the yeti one of his said snow globes. Shaking it, Phil grumbled before a swirling portal appeared. Stepping in, he felt like he was moving at incredible speeds. The movement was slightly rattling his lunch. When he came to a stop, Phil was met with a snowball to the face.

"Whoops." Jamie Bennett winced as he wasn't able to stop his throw. The boy was dressed in a casual blue vest and a long sleeved shirt, complete with sneakers and jeans. The yeti wiped the flakes off his face as Jamie said sheepishly, "Sorry, Phil."

"Oh hey, Phil!" Another boy with a dark blue sweatshirt and snow white hair landed on the ground. "Good to see you again, buddy." The boy could otherwise be known as the famed Winter Spirit, the Guardian of Fun and leader of the Defenders of Realms: Jack Frost. Jack twirled his staff in his hands before settling it's tip on the ground. "So, big guy, what brings you here?"

Phil didn't even bother to answer. He simply gave the traveling device a shake, and Jack knew what it meant. Jamie did too, and he dropped his shoulders. His expression was slightly sad. "Do you have to go?"

Jack smiled. "Hey, I'll be back, kiddo. Until then, keep throwing snowballs." The winter spirit gave Jamie a friendly wave as Phil opened the gateway. Jack followed Phil into the vortex and the pair disappeared. Jamie sighed, picking up more snow from the ground. Looks like he has to find someone else to chuck snow at. Or maybe he could just build a snowman.

* * *

"Alright, I'm here," said Jack as he treaded onto the balcony in North's workshop. "I hear you needed me over ASAP. Phil dragged me out of a snowball fight with Jamie. And you know I don't like draws."

North turned to face the fun loving boy with an absolutely stern face, complete with scrunched eyebrows and a solid stare. Jack was rather surprised as he became tempted to step back. "Something tells me I should take this much more seriously."

"I will explain later." North handed Jack a pair of compasses. "These will allow you to travel across the different worlds."

"Worlds? Travel?" Jack repeated. He was dumbfounded for a moment. "Wait, you mean I'm crossing realms again?"

"Yes. I need you to gather up the Defenders. I'll explain the situation once all four of you are here."

"Okay," Jack began, still lost as to what was going on. Nonetheless, he closed his eyes and one of the compasses started to glow. A yellow light engulfed the young guardian and within seconds, he vanished completely.

* * *

When Jack opened his eyes, he was no longer in the workshop in the freezing North Pole. The temperature was still incredibly cool, but it was still a few degrees south of freezing to death. Jack gripped his staff tightly, keeping him afloat in the chilly skies. His other hand held the two compasses. The sun rays were strong and fresh as the early morning.

Jack gazed downwards. Below him was an island with a massive mountain. His sights locked on what seems to look like a giant metal bar dome-like cage structure. It was exactly what he was looking for.

With a wave of his staff, Jack summoned the wind to carry him downwards. There weren't a lot of flying reptilians in the skies today, something Jack was rather thankful for. He reached the entrance of the arena, which was decorated with a dragon shaped logo that possessed a red tail fin.

"Hey guys," said Jack, greeting the teenagers inside. Each of them stood by their signature dragons, either mounting up or feeding them. Astrid with her blue Deadly Nadder: Stormfly, Snotlout with his deep scarlet Monstrous Nightmare: Hookfang, Fishlegs with the adorable Gronckle: Meatlug, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut were conducting their usual business in bickering over their two headed dragon: Barf and Belch. At the end of the arena was another dragon, it's color almost as black as night. His partner: a skinny boy with auburn hair, a green tunic, a brown waistcoat and a prosthetic foot.

"Jack," said Hiccup, walking up to the winter spirit. "You're back already. That was fast. We're about to go out for a morning ride, wanna join us?" The black dragon, Toothless, nudged Hiccup happily.

"I don't think North would like that," Jack replied. "He wants us back at the pole soon. And we still have to go pick up the girls." He passed Hiccup one of the compasses. Berk's young heir caught it neatly in his left hand. "Okay," Hiccup answered, his voice becoming much more strict. "I'll grab my shield and go."

"Shield?" Jack asked.

Hiccup couldn't help but smirk. "What? You can't possible think that I spent the last six months staring at the sea." He threw his legs over Toothless' saddle, his prosthetic left foot clicking into place with the pedal as he turned to his peers. "You guys keep training while I'm gone. Astrid is in charge of the Academy."

Groans escaped from the mouths of Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins. Astrid stood there with her arms crossed, already considering what kind of training regimes she can inflict on her friends. Hiccup and Toothless slipped out of the arena entrance.

"Be careful," Astrid told Hiccup.

"I will."

Jack hovered above the boy and his dragon. "Make it quick. You get Merida I'll take Rapunzel."

"Alright," Hiccup responded. Toothless took off into the skies above Berk, and Hiccup directed his dragon to the village plaza with much familiarity. He hopped off the dragon's back, hurrying into Gobber's workshop. The blacksmith was beating a sword with a hammer on the anvil, and sparks flew.

Hiccup dashed past his mentor, grabbing a silver ornate shield complete with a painted silhouette of Toothless. "Gobber, tell my dad I won't be coming back for a while."

The statement seemed to have caught the viking by surprise. "What? Hiccup, where are you going?" Before Gobber received his answer, Hiccup had the strap of his weapon slung across his chest and brought out the compass. "Let's go, bud."

* * *

Merida wasn't expecting a viking to suddenly walk in on her archery training. As Hiccup was inspecting his shield for damage, Merida kept insisting that the fifteen year old was very lucky to not get shot in the head. Hiccup simply blamed his luck, though he couldn't help but think that the only reason Jack wanted him to pick up Merida was that so Jack wasn't the one who could have been shish kebab-ed. DunBroch's feisty princess brought along a set of fresh new arrows in a quiver and her trusty bow. She preferred to travel light.

Jack's experience was much more peaceful and sane. He had appeared at the outskirts of the kingdom of Corona. He made a jet for the castle and Rapunzel was out on the balcony, giving Jack a rib crushing hug of a reunion. She was a little reluctant to join Jack on this journey, though after prodding from her husband, former thief Eugene Fitzherbert, Rapunzel decided to come along with Jack. Though she did leave her pet chameleon and friend, Pascal, in Eugene's care.

It didn't take too long for all four Defenders to regroup at North's workshop back in the First World. He did give the team sometime to say their greetings, and the two princesses exchanged friendly embraces. Toothless stayed beside his rider, curled up into a comfortable napping position.

"So, what's this mission that's so urgent the four of us have to get together?" Hiccup was the first one who bothered to ask the question.

"Yeah, you'd better have a good reason for pulling me away from making snow days," Jack grumbled in addition.

"I have very big news," said North as he started pacing back and forth in front of the Defenders. "For centuries, there have been only four worlds connected to each other. But now, a fifth world has been added to the link."

"A fifth world?" breathed Rapunzel.

"Yes. And it just so happens that we have received a message asking for help from this new world. It is something straight up the caliber of you four. It is your job to journey across the different realms and protect them from darkness. Even with another world, your duty remains to same. I would like you to venture to this fifth world and see what it is they need help with."

"Fair enough," said Merida. "Is there a name to this place?"

"Yes," said North. "Arendelle."

"Fancy name," Jack commented. He held out his compass. "Well, let's get going guys." As Jack said these words, a light surrounded the Defenders. "Next stop: Arendelle." With a bright flash, the teenagers and Toothless were gone, leaving North in the workshop. He allowed a moment of silence to pass by before looking up to the moon. "Manny, please protect them."

* * *

As the light dimmed down, the Defenders find themselves on a slope in the middle of the forest. It was peaceful and tranquil. Hiccup could barely make out a small shack in the distance, maybe something like a distant trading post. The boy didn't pay much attention to it.

"It's warm here," said Rapunzel.

"It's probably summer," Merida deducted. She took a deep breath in of the fresh air. Hiccup and Rapunzel were enjoying the moment, and Toothless took into account their new surroundings. Their delight was short lived.

Jack fell to his knees, grimacing in pain. His staff dropped out of his hands as his arms supported his chest from the ground. Everyone's hearts turned cold.

"Jack!" Rapunzel cried. She lowered herself towards the guardian. "Are you alright?"

There was a pulsing sensation rattling Jack's entire body. He didn't understand it. He didn't know what it was, or why it was happening. For a brief moment, Jack shut his eyes tight. Then, the pain stopped as quickly as it began. Jack's breath hitched and his heart was still pounding. He tried to calm himself down.

"Jack?" Merida asked.

Warily, Jack stood back up. "Don't worry, guys," he said, putting on a smile. "I'm perfectly fine. It's probably just a minor side effect of the crossing between words thing."

Rapunzel and Merida seemed convinced, but Hiccup was definitely suspicious as he handed his friend the staff. Jack was acting much like him. Keeping everything to himself. Telling others they have nothing to worry about when he's trying to do everything himself. Hiccup knew he couldn't blame Jack. He did spend 300 years all alone, much like how he was shunned by his tribe for most of his life. However, he had to play along.

"Come on. Let's go find Arendelle, and the people who sent us that message."

Jack readily agreed. He had reassured his teammates that things were alright. But his instincts were bugging him, and Jack couldn't shake off the feeling that something was very, very wrong. Looking down at his right palm, Jack was surprised when a snowflake flew outwards without his control.

* * *

Uh... I think this chapter was a bit rushed, even though it's long enough as it is... and I apologize for any and all OOC.

And yes, I watch Defenders of Berk, hence Hiccup's ornate shield.


	4. Arendelle

I must be a demon for not updating for a little over a week. I'M SORRY! It's the New Year, so things are rather hectic. That, and I'm distracted by the Ranger's Apprentice. I just started, so my journey to catch up and finish begins. And I am sorry if this chapter doesn't meet your standards of excitement and content.

That said, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

My resolution: finish this story. It's harder than it sounds. I have a requirement to make my chapters a minimum of 1000 words in length, so never fear 500 word chapters from me!

**Chapter Three: Arendelle**

"This is Arendelle?" Merida breathed, heavy amounts of aspiration in her voice. She was not the only one left in utter surprise. The other Defenders were just as speechless. The scene in front of them was dreadful. The homes were wrecked, holes poked through walls and large gaping ones were scattered across the roofs. Market stands and carts were flipped over entirely, leaving a long trail of produce all over the streets.

Jack turned his head left and right, looking for any signs of the local residents. "Huh. I always thought it would look more..."

"Civilized?" Hiccup interjected. "Don't blame you. And is it just me, or does this look a bit like your world, Rapunzel?"

"I see the similarities," the princess agreed. "Where is everyone?"

Of all the visible standing buildings, the massive castle in the distance appeared to be the only structure that was still clearly strong and stable. "We should head for the palace," Rapunzel reasoned, pointing ahead. "If the Royal Family here is as caring as the one back at home, they should have the gates open to people seeking refuge."

She, Merida, Hiccup and Toothless started to make their way down the wrecked pavements of Arendelle's streets. Jack stayed behind his friends for a moment and held out his hand. What was that flake of snow that appeared out of nowhere. He didn't command it to come out, so why did it? The thought bothered Jack deeply inside. He murmured in surprise when Merida called out his name.

"We haven't got all day, you know," she continued, rather impatiently.

"Coming," Jack answered as he hurriedly caught up with his friends. As the group strode towards the palace, Hiccup's eyes and thoughts became preoccupied with thoughts to how the kingdom ended up the way it was. It was a complete disaster. Hiccup himself had seen it happen to Berk, though that was mostly his fault for wrecking up the village's structure during Dragon Raids.

Rapunzel suddenly stopped as she stepped to the side, approaching one of the nearby fallen wagons. "Guys, look at this." They all inched closer as Rapunzel settled a knee on the ground close to the wagon. She picked up a coal colored powder substance and trailed it down her hand back to the floor. "Does this look familiar to anyone?"

"Pitch's nightmare sand?" guessed the princess of DunBroch. Merida almost considered it as an impossible thought, but a part of her feared the truth.

"Pitch?" Jack repeated, almost scoffing. "He was defeated."

"Looks like he's not completely done," Hiccup said. His voice reflected all the thinking that was going on in his brain. "He must have escaped to this world with his remaining strength."

"How did he get here before we did?" asked Merida. "North said Arendelle was just connected recently. He couldn't have crossed over months ago."

"I don't know," Hiccup replied solemnly. "But the evidence is right here."

"What are the chances it's just regular black sand?" Jack chimed in merrily. His attempt to lighten the mood ended in vain. "Come on, that means I'll have to fight this guy again."

"The sooner we talk to the locals, the better," said Rapunzel, getting back to her feet. The walls to the castle was just at the end of the path and the Defenders quickened their pace. Toothless trailed behind Hiccup, and the boy would occasionally turn around to check on the dragon, giving him a pet or a smile of encouragement.

A group of guards were stationed around the palace gates. Seeing the figures in the distance approaching, they brought up their swords and spears, pointing them forward threateningly. "Halt!"

"Whoa, sentries," said Jack, his hold on his staff tightening. Merida's bow was slung over her shoulder, and she was slowly beginning to reach for it. Hiccup was tempted to bring out his shield into an offensive position. Some of the men faltered at the sight of Toothless, and the dragon's eyes slitted slightly. Rapunzel hurriedly gestured for them to stop.

"Guys, that's only going to provoke them." She turned to the soldiers, realizing that her line of reasoning was correct. People were being protected in the royal structure. "May we please enter?"

"No," the head guard answered in a point blank voice. "No one is go step in or leave the palace without the Queen's permissions."

"Then can you please tell us what happened here?" Hiccup added, desperately trying to sound as diplomatic as possible. Though making the group not seem like a threat was hard. He had to beckon for Toothless to stay down.

"That information cannot be disclosed to unidentified persons."

Jack sighed as he stepped forward. "Alright, we tried. Desperate times call for desperate measures." The winter spirit smirked as he twirled his staff in his hands. The sentries immediately feared that they had made a mistake.

* * *

"The Defenders of Realms?" Elsa was fuming at her sister in a private room away from the other villagers. The moment the black horses caught sight of the bright beacon, they whimpered and retreated. She opened up the castle to be used as an asylum for the rest of the Kingdom, calling upon doctors and nurses to help tend to the wounded. Kristoff was among the first to be taken to the infirmary, and Sven was close behind. Knights and warriors who could be spared and weren't injured were positioned around the palace.

Elsa only had a moment to relax before she rushed into the library after her sister and Olaf. They went to a quiet place in the castle where they would not be disturbed while Olaf went to keep Kristoff company. Once Elsa asked her sister who did she call for help, she was definitely not amused.

"Anna, they were just stories mother told us when we were kids." The queen let out a frustrated breath. The early morning light from the windows reflected her irritated eyes. "They're not real."

"Well they could be," said Anna, rather vexed by her sister's lack of imagination and hope. "And they seem to be a group perfectly capable of handling the situation we're in. And you said you trusted my judgement!"

"I never thought you would call on fantasies and fairy tales to help us." Elsa was trying her best to control her emotions, but she was almost afraid that she wasn't calm enough. A frisson of cold ran across her hands. She clenched them shut. "Anna, what you did risked your life. If Olaf hadn't protected you-"

"Which he did," Anna jumped in.

"You would have wasted your life for nothing. I don't want to put you in any danger."

"It was worth it, Elsa," the young princess replied. "Trust me, they're real. Come on, you can't deny the fact that you believed the Defenders of real when mother told us that story too. I could see the look on your face. You were imagining what was it like battling evil foes by their side."

"That was a long time ago," Elsa huffed, flustered. "In any case, we're going to have to decide who we're going to have to ask for reinforcements."

"No," Anna hastily exclaimed. "They will come!"

"Anna," Elsa said, authority in her voice, "it's time you stopped believing in-"

There was a loud crash from above, a flurry of glass fragments rained down from the sky. The two siblings took a leap backwards, and Anna clung onto her sister for comfort. Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna's head, protecting her from the falling debris. With the danger quickly over, the sisters separated.

A young boy, dressed in a blue sweatshirt with snowy hair arched through the window, landing neatly on his feet. He whooped. "Whoo! Now that is how you get into a castle."

Following the boy was a black creature. Terror struck Elsa, suspecting it to be more of the dark monsters from earlier. One hand was poised for strike, while the other held Anna back. But to her surprise, another boy and two girls slid off the back of the creature.

"Jack," the brown haired boy muttered, "that was overkill."

"What?" Jack said, holding his hands up in defense. "They wouldn't let us in, so this was the way to go. You would've let Toothless blast a hole in the wall if I didn't. Admit it, Hiccup."

Within seconds, the conversation between Hiccup and Jack turned into an all out friendly argument. The girl with the fiery hair was the one to stop them from fighting, while the other female in a lavender gown started nervously, "Guys?" She gestured to Elsa and Anna standing in shock in front of them.

Hiccup's face flushed. "We just embarrassed ourselves, didn't we?"

A tense moment of silence passed before Elsa began, "Who?"

"Jack Frost," Jack answered, his thumb pointing to himself. He motioned towards each of his friends with his staff. "That's Hiccup. Merida. Rapunzel. The giant lizard's Toothless, a dragon." He ignored Toothless' snort and Hiccup's call of "hey!" in the background as he turned back to the figures of Arendelle's royal family. "And we're the Defenders of Realms."

Elsa stood for a moment, her mouth almost hanging a gape. Anna leaned in towards her sister and piped in a gleeful tone, "Told ya."

* * *

The prison cell was dark and cold, hidden from all traces of sunlight. The place reeked of countless unpleasant smells that Prince Hans could go the rest of his life without experiencing. He slept, scrunched up, on his uncomfortable straw bunker. He had been here for almost a year, and he wasn't going to get out any time soon.

"That wretched Princess of Arendelle," the prince spat out almost venomously. "If it wasn't for her, I would finally be living a life of luxury and power!"

His twelve elder brothers didn't give him any respect when he returned to the Southern Isles, and were clearly very disappointed in his actions. In fact, they were the ones who gave Hans his punishment: sentenced to life in prison. Attempted murder of both royal figures of Arendelle was a crime punishable by death. But with the small bit of mercy the brothers had, they decided to spare Hans life and instead give him the punishment of never being able to obtain what he had desired.

Life behind bars had been dreadful. The temperatures during winter would drop below freezing, and Hans wasn't given anything more than a small, thin blanket. The meals were tasteless. While he never received attention from his brothers, at least back in the castle he had enjoyable food. It was cold and miserable, and Hans was beginning to think maybe it would have been better if he was sentenced to death.

Oh did Hans swear revenge against Arendelle. Especially it's young princess. He had wooed her, get the young woman to fall in love with him so that he may ascend the throne. And he was close. So very close. Day after day behind bars and Hans kept on thinking of a way he could escape and enact his vengeance. There wasn't anything else to do, so his mind kept wandering through the different methods he could escape, then put his latest schemes into action.

And on this day, his prayers were answered.

There was a shout from down the dimly lit corridors from one of the sentries down the hall, and the sound alerted Hans attention. He positioned himself upright and stared out of his cell. No one was approaching him. But a swirling vortex of midnight black sands made it's way down the corridor, coming closer like a wave of darkness. Hans stood up and backed into the wall behind him, pressing his spine against the icy stone walls. His heart rate started accelerating in panic.

The sands flowed harmless into the cell, each small fracture coming together to make a shadow along the walls. It took the shape of a grown man with sharp, geometric features. There was no face and no body to project it.

"Who-who are you?" Hans forced himself to croak out, his feet almost slipping on the damp, mossy flagstones of the dungeon floor.

"My name..." began the shadow in an eerie, sinister yet solid voice, "is Pitch Black. I am the Lord of Nightmares, the embodiment of Fear and Darkness itself."

Hans narrowed his brows slightly. "What do you want with me?"

"I am willing to free you from this prison, only under the condition that you are willing to help restore myself to full power. Of course, in asking for your assistance, I will offer you something in return."

The words struck Hans' interest and curiosity, his anxiety towards the strange shadowed man melting away. "And what is the subject of your payment?" The young prince couldn't help but allow a villainous grin to curl up his lips at the dark spirits' answer:

"Vengeance against Princess Anna of Arendelle."

* * *

We finally get actual villains in this story, hope that didn't take too long. And it seems that Anna is prone to things slamming in from windows. Mild lampshading and breaking the fourth wall from Hiccup and Rapunzel... I must have spent too much time on TV Tropes.

FOR THOSE OF YOU HOPING FOR JELSA: I am sorry to say, but no. No Jelsa. We've seen love in the form of familial love and romantic love, so this story is going towards a different type of love. :3 I just killed some readers on the inside, didn't I?


	5. The Strike

I don't think I should be ranting about school and take away your reading time.

Though this chapter has a lot of dialogue. Not much action in the first half of the chapter, I guess. Mostly explaining stuff. Hope you guys find that it gets better towards the end. ;)

**Chapter Four: The Strike**

The Defenders sat across the table from Elsa and Anna. The dining room was eerily silent as Anna did her best to suppress the countless questions churning inside of her. Her sister had instructed her to stay quiet for the time being, so Anna was playing around with the possible answers in her head.

Upon learning the status of the new arrivals, Elsa hurriedly ordered a meal to be brought to them in the dining hall. She berated herself for not trusting Anna as she sat there, staring at the figure in front of her. Every now and then, her vision would shift to the dragon coiled up beside Hiccup. The young boy sat at the edge of the table. Rapunzel sat at the other end, and Jack and Merida in between them. There was a tray of small pastries in front of them. While Jack and Merida each helped themselves to a piece, Hiccup and Rapunzel decided that it wasn't time for a bite.

Eventually, Anna could no longer hold in her excitement. "I knew you guys were real!" she squealed happily. "My mother told us about your adventures when we were kids, and I never stopped dreaming about your battles."

"Actually," Hiccup began, rather nervously as he was unsure to the words he should be using in the presence of the royal family, "we just became a team only half a year ago. The stories you were told were probably the adventures of the previous generations of the Defenders of Realms."

"Wow," Anna breathed, resting her chin in her palms as her arms were propped onto the table. "So you guys have already been on adventures. Sounds exciting."

"It was," said Rapunzel. "It was quite the ride. Though things have gotten quiet in the last couple of months."

"I was getting bored," Merida put in.

"I wasn't," Jack muttered through seething teeth. "It was winter and I had stuff to do. Oh well. Duty calls, I guess." Out of boredom, Jack tapped the glass of water in front of him with his staff. Droplets o to crystalize from within the water, spreading outwards and freezing the drink, turning it into a clear block of ice.

The action caught the attention of the siblings right away and for a moment, they exchanged worried glances. Elsa looked at Jack in awe. "Did you just do that?"

"Yes, I did, your majesty," Jack replied believing it wasn't a big deal. Though judging from the Queen's reaction, he began to think otherwise.

Elsa slowly stood up her eyes transfixed on Jack. She swallowed the lump in her throat and held out her hand. A flurry of snowflakes emerged, dancing up into the sky. Upon seeing this, Jack's eyes widened.

"No way..."

"Jack, she's just like you!" Rapunzel chimed in.

"But that can't be," said Jack, expression his confusion as he slowly stood up to his feet. "I've never met anyone else with the same powers."

"My sister can control snow and ice," Anna explained. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Just snow and ice?" Merida repeated, scrunching her eyebrows. "But Jack, can't you manipulate wind too?"

Understanding dawned in Jack's eyes. "That's right. I can."

"Then it seems that we're different," said Elsa. She returned her hand to her sides. "I was born with this power and for most of my life, I wasn't able to control it. I lived in fear that I would hurt those around me everyday. Eventually, I managed to gain control and it has never been a problem since."

Jack considered the Queen's statement and nodded slowly. "I received my powers after I died."

"Wait, you're dead?" Anna looked at Jack with a perplexed expression. "But you look fine. And alive."

"The Man in Moon revived me," Jack replied. "He turned me into a spirit, and gave me these powers over ice, snow and wind. I became Jack Frost, the winter spirit. Though I lived on my own for 300 hundred years. No one believed in me, so no one was able to see me."

"That must have been lonely," said Elsa, thinking about how much time she isolated herself from her family and her sister. She had a feeling she could at least sympathize with the feeling of loneliness Jack had to endure. But it must have been unthinkable to be alone for three centuries.

"Excuse me for interrupting," Hiccup spoke up. "But we're moving away from the matter at hand. We were told that we received a message asking for help from a Fifth World. Usually, there are Four Worlds connecting to each other, and the Defenders and I are each from different Worlds. But as soon as this Fifth World had been connected, we were gathered and told that you needed help."

"That's right," Elsa answered as she took her seat. Jack decided that he should do the same. The young Queen continued her explanation. "Our kingdom was attacked last night."

"Last night?" said Merida. "By whom?"

Hiccup had a feeling he had already figured it out. "Black horses by any chance?"

"Yeah," Anna jumped in. "They surrounded the entire castle and took down a lot of our guards easily. Along their way here, they wrecked the village." Anna paused for a moment. "They also wounded Kristoff."

Rapunzel murmured in curiosity. "Kristoff?"

Anna chose the words for her answer carefully. "He's someone important to me."

From her reply, Rapunzel could tell that Arendelle's young princess cared a lot for this young man. Perhaps it was similar to the relationship she had with Eugene during their first journey. She smiled warmly. "I understand."

"I was able to hold back those monsters, but I'm afraid if more of them appear, I won't be enough to stop them," said Elsa. "That's when my sister sent her call for help. She believed that you would be able to help us in getting rid of them."

"That would be our pleasure," said Jack. "And we already have an idea what these monsters are." Before anyone had a chance to interrupt, Jack continued. He was the leader after all. He should look good when he explained these things. "The dark horses are minions of Pitch Black. He's the embodiment of fear and darkness, and a villain I fought back in my home world. We thought that he had been defeated, but who knew that he was hiding here in Arendelle the entire time. Now, he must be looking for revenge."

"What can we do?" asked Elsa. She was prepared to listen to any ideas the Defenders had to offer. If it meant the safety of the Kingdom and her sister, she decided that she would be willing to take her chances.

"For now, we need to find a way to track Pitch down and stop him before he regains full strength."

"And how are we going to do that, oh mighty leader, Jack Frost?" Hiccup added in a sarcastic tone.

Jack gave his second in command a wary look. "Aren't you the one with the brains?"

"Gee, I don't know. I thought you were the leader and the rest of us were just 'subordinates'." Hiccup couldn't help but smirk at his own little joke. The girls didn't make any attempt to hold in their small bursts of laughter.

"Uh huh, very funny guys," the winter spirit grumbled.

Elsa and Anna felt rather strange in the presence of the teenaged warriors. Rapunzel, the eldest, didn't seem to be older than Elsa herself. Without taking into account Jack being alive for hundreds of years, Hiccup appeared to be the youngest, not being more than sixteen years of age and he even seemed small for his age. Merida doesn't seem to be taking any of this very seriously. But just having the Defenders in front of them, the sisters felt relieved. There was something about them that made the group seem reliable, that they were experienced and ready for such a task. "Never judge a book by it's cover", as the old saying went.

The young queen stood up. "Well, if you would all excuse me, I would to return to my duties," she said. "There are many wounded villagers in the castle, and I have to see that they are all given proper treatment." Elsa smiled politely as she left the room. The door closed behind her silently.

As she watched her sister leave, Anna shifted in her seat, her eyes gleaming with interest. "Tell me about some of your adventures. You know, before the four of you met."

"Well, you heard Jack's," said Rapunzel, eyeing her friend for a moment. "Stayed alone for 300 hundred years until he was requested to help fight against Pitch. Did a pretty good job of it, actually."

"Pretty much," Jack said, shrugging.

"Mine wasn't anything as fancy," Rapunzel continued. "I was trapped in a tower for most of my life. On my eighteenth birthday, I met Eugene. He's my husband now, but back then, he was a thief. We went on a little journey together so that I could see the floating lights."

Anna listened intently with a dreamy expression on her face. "That sounds romantic. What about you, Merida?"

"Turned my mother into a bear," DunBroch's princess answered almost nonchalantly in her usual Scottish accent. As she felt Anna's surprised reaction, she hurried to quench it. "I turned her back though! But not before she defeated the Demon Bear, Mor'du."

"I see," Anna said rather incredulously. She turned to Hiccup, the only person whose story she had yet heard. Hiccup didn't need any further action to inform him that that princess was waiting for his side of the adventure. He opened his mouth to speak, but truth be told, he felt a strange sensation.

There seemed to be slight movement directed at his left foot. That wasn't supposed to happen. Hiccup gazed to his feet. To his surprise, a strange white creature with a long orange nose stood, his tiny stick-like arms poking Hiccup's metal prosthetic.

"Oooh," it murmured. "What's this?"

A shriek of surprise came from Hiccup as he jerked out of the chair and away from the table. The yelp had caught everyone by surprise. The strange creature clung onto his artificial prosthetic and Hiccup's attempts to shake it off ended in vain.

"What is this thing?!"

Toothless was suddenly alert, his fangs appearing. Rapunzel was up on her feet as well. Jack stood in a defensive position, his staff poised for attack. Merida grabbed her bow and prepared a shot. Anna rushed from the other end of the table towards the Defenders. Upon seeing the one holding onto Hiccup's leg, she found it rather funny. Though her voice sounded much more serious than she was.

"Olaf!"

"Olaf?" Rapunzel and Jack repeated in unison, realizing that Anna recognized the little snowman.

"Merida, don't shoot!" Anna added urgently, but she was a split second too late.

"Whoops," Merida blurted out as she let her arrow fly. The shot struck Olaf's nose, forcing the carrot through the snowman's head, out the back and pinned to a wall. Olaf paused and released his grip on Hiccup, playing around with his missing part.

"Huh," he murmured. "An arrow pierced my nose."

Anna went over to the wall and plucked out the carrot before handing it back to Olaf. She turned to the Defenders, who were completely stunned. "Guys," she began. "This is Olaf."

"Hello," the snowman added merrily.

"Elsa built him," said Anna.

Jack stared in awe at the creation. He pointed to it with one of his fingers. "This, I can't make."

"Sorry about that," Anna apologized sheepishly. "He's like this sometimes."

Olaf, by now, had stuck his nose back on. He trotted over to the black dragon nearby. Toothless had registered that Olaf was not a threat towards either himself or Hiccup, and his teeth retracted back into his gums. The dragon stayed still as Olaf patted him on the snout. Toothless returned the friendly gesture with a happy gaze.

"Your dragon seems to like him," said Anna.

"Yeah, that's pretty much my story," Hiccup replied, regaining his composition. "I befriended Toothless. Though when I shot him down, I severed his left tail fin and he was no longer able to fly. I built him a tail and now, he can fly again. He needs someone to ride him, though."

Anna looked at Hiccup quizzically. "Why would you shoot him?"

"Hiccup's village was at war with the dragons," Rapunzel took over. "He defied tradition and ended a whole war with his friendship with Toothless."

"And took down a dragon the size of a mountain while he was at it," Merida finished.

Hiccup couldn't help but feel flustered. "That's also when I lost the leg. Gobber made the prosthetic and a new tail for Toothless. Then there's my Dad. I guess I finally made him proud." There was a small feeling of pride in his chest. Though Hiccup made a mental note not to turn into a gloating machine like Snotlout. There was a pause in the conversation as Anna allowed Hiccup's story to sink in.

"So this is getting a little boring," Jack grumbled. "Is there anything else to do around here?"

Anna's eyes lit up immediately. "I was wondering if you could show me your powers, Jack. They're a little different to Elsa's, and I just want to see."

"That's fine with me," Jack replied, though somewhere in his mind he thought it would have been better if he had refused the idea. His words indicated otherwise. "Is there somewhere we can do that? An empty room, maybe?"

Anna grinned. "I know just the place." The young princess led her guests and newfound friends through the palace hallways. Along the way, Rapunzel took into account of the suits of armors that aligned the walls and how they reminded her of her own castle back in Corona. There were also dark colored curtains, but they were all kept neatly to the sides and Rapunzel noticed that dark clouds started to loom overhead.

Eventually, Anna stopped at a pair of doors. She pushed them open, leaning into a large empty space of a room. She gestured for the others to enter. "This is the room where Elsa and I used to play in when we were kids," Anna explained as she closed the doors.

"That's great," said Hiccup. "While you guys do that, I'll be here in the corner." The boy beckoned for Toothless to follow him into a small space close to the walls. As Toothless got himself into a comfortable position, his rider started going through their gear. Hiccup checked, then double checked, the contraptions working his dragon's mechanical tail. He made sure the saddle was secure tight before moving on to polishing his shield. Gronckle iron, silver and luster as it is still needed some taking care of. Hiccup reminded himself that he also needed to check the workings of the crossbow inside the shield.

While Hiccup busied himself with the maintenance of his equipment, the focus of everyone else was on Jack. With a wave of his staff, snow started to cumulate in the room. A small pile was starting to form beside Anna's feet. The air started to turn cool as the temperature began to drop slightly.

Reaching down onto the ground, Anna balled up a bunch of snow. Before she could stop herself, she hurled it at the closest target, which happened to be Merida. She let out a playful cry in surprise.

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be, your highness?" Merida soon started preparing her own set of frosty ammunition and it didn't take long for Rapunzel to join the fray . As Hiccup sat tinkering in the corner, he was finding it increasingly difficult to stay focused and not join his teammates in the snowball fight.

Jack laughed wholeheartedly as he saw the scene unfold in front of him. "Hey guys, save some for me." As the young Guardian prepared to take a step forward, he stopped. He was right in the middle of a step when he halted himself. A feeling of incredible uneasiness and fear consumed him. Then he heard it. A voice. A voice in his mind.

_Jack_, it whispered. The voice had a cold, cruel and merciless tone. Jack didn't need any other indicator to recognize who it was.

"Pitch?" He spoke the words out loud, but they were snuffed out by the laughter of his friends. Jack lowered his voice even more. "The last thing I need it you poking around my brain. Get out."

_Come now, Jack. After all this time and this is how you greet me? And here I am hoping to talk to you._

"Well, I don't want to listen," said Jack through gritted teeth.

_I can hear all your thoughts and here I am among yours. You do realize you can't do anything but hear me out, don't you, Jack? _

As much as the winter spirit didn't want to admit it, Pitch was right. He had only one choice now. Try to drive out the influence from Pitch's words. He kept his gaze fixated on his friends.

_You know they won't be around forever. And you'll be all alone, once again. Just like how it was back in our home world._

"Can it, Pitch," Jack glowered.

_You know I can sense your fears, _Pitch continued, his voice still unwavering and echoing in Jack's thoughts. _You're afraid of being alone. But that's a fear for the future. I know that you're worried that you're not good enough. _

Jack's eyes widened and he hesitated to give the dark spirit a reply. It was then Pitch realized that he really had struck home. _I can't blame you, Jack. Now that you've finally found those who accept you, you're going to do whatever it takes to please them-to protect them. But somewhere in that little heart of yours, you fear that you just can't do that. By the chance that you will become a horrible leader and that you will lead them all to their downfall._

By now, Jack was struggling to control an outburst of raw emotions. He clung onto his staff tighter, hoping that it would help relieve him of his anxiety and that Pitch couldn't sense the change. There was no such luck.

_ You've already let the Guardians down during Easter once. What's stopping you from doing something like that again? The trust the Guardians placed in you was ruined. And I'm sure while the other Defenders act friendly around you, they have their doubts. They believe in your existence. But they don't believe in you yourself. _

Jack knew that he wasn't supposed to listen, and that he definitely wasn't supposed to contemplate what Pitch was saying. Yet, something in those words made Jack feel uncomfortable. A spiral of self doubt had filled him entirely. It was just threatening to burst out.

Pitch delivered the final blow. _You've been alone, and you'll always __be__ alone._

That was it. Jack snapped. With a roar of anger, he slammed the tip of his staff onto the tiled floor and a monstrous gale erupted. A blast of pure ice energy shot forward from Jack. It gained speed and hurtled towards it's unsuspecting target.

Merida was the first to notice. "Hiccup!"

The boy spun around at Merida's warning and saw the attack coming straight at him. His thoughts were faster than his body. He attempted to will himself to move, but his body refused. Then at the very last second, Hiccup felt a force on his stomach. By the time he became aware of what had happened, the air shook with an agonizing bellow.

The skies cackled and the room fell into complete stillness.

For Hiccup, time stood frozen. Everything except the strong thumping of his heart. It was the only thing that reminded Hiccup that he was still conscious and alive, that he continued to stay breathing and well. He slowly gathered this thoughts. Jack went out of control. He shot one of his blasts forward, straight at him. Toothless took the hit.

_By Thor's name, Toothless!_

His best friend was lying there in front of him. The dragon's facial features were contorted into a painful expression, striking fear, panic and anger in Hiccup's own heart. He placed a gentle hand on the Night Fury, not being able to bring himself to say any words.

Everyone else in the room was not in a better state. Merida still was trying to comprehend what had just happened, and Anna was the only one who really understood what Jack had done. She found herself speechless, simply standing there and watching the group. Rapunzel was the first one to break the silence.

"Jack..." Her voiced trailed off as she turned to the young guardian.

His jaw hung slightly open from shock and his fingers wrapped around the staff trembled. Inside Jack's mind, he could feel Pitch words. _See_, the dark spirit cooed, _look at what_ _you've done_. Moments later, the evil presence disappeared, and Jack could hear his own thoughts once again. Realization of what he had done dawned upon him in a second.

"Hiccup..." Jack finally said, finally finding his voice. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"You didn't mean to?" Hiccup instantly snapped in return. His shot his leader a dangerous glare, his eyes seething with anger.

"It was an accident, Hiccup," Jack continued, now out of desperation. His tone was filled with uncertainty, and above all, guilt. "I swear, I didn't mea-"

"Shut it!"

The fury in Hiccup reached a breaking point and he galvanized into action. His hands grabbed the silver shield hanging from the fallen dragon's saddle, his body acting in rage and on it's own volition. Within seconds, the shield morphed into a crossbow. Hiccup drew an arrow from the quiver, and nocked. There was the glint of a tear as Hiccup pivoted and aimed his shot directly at Jack's heart.

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Jasminejohnson41 and I spent a looooong time figuring out who it was that Jack was gonna shoot. We've found our answer! Talk about that shift in tone! Also, the shield is canon. Sort of. Defenders of Berk, my friend.

Was this worth waiting 2 weeks for? It's pretty much a double chapter. I'm sorry if this is too dull and/or too long! T_T


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